Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Alison Nieto
When a road goes unplowed or a new project comes forward at East Point, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Alison Nieto is the Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Board of Selectmen to run the town day to day, and the board can end that contract if it loses confidence in the office. The Town Administrator is the town’s chief administrative officer: the office appoints and supervises most department heads, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. The Board of Selectmen sets the policy, and the Town Administrator makes the machinery run under it. In a town this small the whole staff answers back to one office at Town Hall, which is why a plan to fix a problem usually crosses this desk first, then goes to the board, and then to Town Meeting for the vote that makes it real. That last step is the one worth remembering: the administrator proposes and the board reviews, but only the registered voters in the hall can actually approve the money.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Board of Selectmen under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA 01908 |
| Phone | 781-581-0088 |
| Website | nahant.org/administrator |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who oversees the daily work of Town Hall.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Town Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Town Administrator serves at the pleasure of the elected Board of Selectmen and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Nahant that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy day to day, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- The Board of Selectmen is the check: it hires and can release the Town Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Board of Selectmen, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 334 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA 01908.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 781-581-0088.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works.
- Show up: the Board of Selectmen meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.